Benchmarking Environmental Impacts of Peat Use for Electricity Generation in Ireland—A Life Cycle Assessment

Sosa

et al. 2016

Energy

Self Cite

a b s t r a c tThe energy sector is the major contributor to GHG (greenhouse gas emissions) in Ireland. Under EU Renewable energy targets, Ireland must achieve contributions of 40%, 12% and 10% from renewables to electricity, heat and transport respectively by 2020, in addition to a 20% reduction in GHG emissions. Life cycle assessment methodology was used to carry out a comprehensive, holistic evaluation of biomass-toenergy systems in 2020 based on indigenous biomass supply chains optimised to reduce production and transportation GHG emissions. Impact categories assessed include; global warming, acidification, eutrophication potentials, and energy demand. Two biomass energy conversion technologies are considered; co-firing with peat, and biomass CHP (combined heat and power) systems. Biomass is allocated to each plant according to a supply optimisation model which ensures minimal GHG emissions. The study shows that while CHP systems produce lower environmental impacts than co-firing systems in isolation, determining overall environmental impacts requires analysis of the reference energy systems which are displaced. In addition, if the aims of these systems are to increase renewable energy penetration in line with the renewable electricity and renewable heat targets, the optimal scenario may not be the one which achieves the greatest environmental impact reductions.

“…Peat combustion is described in a previous study [104]. Data for fossil fuel combustion in the reference scenarios is from the econivent database [105,106].…”

Section: Life Cycle Assessment Datamentioning

confidence: 99%

Life cycle assessment of biomass-to-energy systems in Ireland modelled with biomass supply chain optimisation based on greenhouse gas emission reduction

Sosa

et al. 2016

Energy

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“…The majority of the electricity from biomass is generated by co-firing with peat, to offset peat combustion. Peat combustion produces large volumes of CO 2 directly but also indirectly reduces the carbon budget of indigenous peatlands [5]. The uptake of solar power generation in the Irish renewable energy market to date has been low, accounting for less than 0.3% of total electricity generated in 2012 [6].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Feasibility Assessment of Photovoltaic Power Systems in Ireland; a Case Study for the Dublin Region

2017

Sustainability

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Photovoltaic (PV) power generation is one of the cleanest sources for producing renewable energy; however uptake on the Irish renewable energy market to date has been low. There is a lack of support for solar PV systems in Ireland; there is currently no solar PV energy feed-in-tariff as there are for other renewable energy systems in Ireland. Despite the current lack of support, the Government has indicated that support for the uptake of solar PV installations will be provided through the provision of a feed-in tariff in the future. The aim of this study was to determine the feasibility of installing PV systems under Irish climatic conditions at a location based in Dublin, Ireland, from a technical, environmental and economic point of view. This was achieved by carrying out a life cycle assessment of potential environmental impacts, and analysis of energy and economic payback times relating to the proposed PV system. Four possible renewable feed-in-tariffs (based on existing feed-in-tariffs for other renewable energy systems) were considered to determine the effect of such tariffs on the overall economics of the proposed PV system. Results show that life cycle GHG emissions are 69 g CO 2 -eq per kWh generated by the system, significantly lower than the current electricity grid mix emissions of 469 g CO 2 -eq per kWh. It will take 5.23 years of operation of the solar plant to generate the same amount of energy (in terms of primary energy equivalent) that was used to produce the system itself. The economic payback time varies from 19.3 and 34.4 years depending on the rate of renewable energy feed-in-tariff applied. The costs for the production of PV electricity in this study are higher than is usual in countries where the solar PV market is more developed, e.g., Germany, due to constraints with building integration and lack of experienced PV installers. As more PV is deployed, the Irish PV installer base will increase and 'learning by doing' effects will allow installers to install projects more efficiently and quickly under Irish conditions, leading to significantly reduced costs.

“…Approximately 175,321 tonnes (1,349,969 GJ) of peat would need to be burnt to meet the energy input of the imported PKS and sunflower husk pellets. A previous study has shown that the harvesting and combustion of 1 GJ of peat results in the emission of 120 kg CO2-eq per GJ (Murphy et al, 2015a). Combustion of the same quantity of peat as the imported biomass co-fired would result in GHG emissions of 161,996 t CO2-eq, significantly lower than the emissions from imported biomass in the reference scenario (208,829 t CO2-eq) and the Post-COP21 scenario (155,.…”

Section: Comparison With Peat-only Combustionmentioning

confidence: 91%

“…Investigation of the potential impact of the Paris Agreement on national mitigation policies and the risk of carbon leakage; an analysis of the Irish bioenergy industry. Energy Policy,104,[80][81][82][83][84][85][86][87][88] of CO2 directly but also indirectly reduces the carbon budget of indigenous peatlands (Murphy et al, 2015a). Co-firing of biomass with peat is a key element of Ireland's renewable energy policy with the Government mandating each of the three peat-fired power plants to co-fire at a rate of 30% of the maximum rated capacity until 2017, 40% between 2017 and 2019, and 50% thereafter (Department of Communications Energy and Natural Resources, 2010).…”

Section: Irish Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Energy Policymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Of the total oil palm plantations on peatlands, 70% occur in Indonesia. Drainage of peatlands for agricultural use can result in significant CO2 emissions when compared to peatlands in their undisturbed state (Murphy et al, 2015a). CO2 emissions from oil palm cultivation on peatlands are estimated as 43 t CO2 per ha per year (for average drainage depth) by Agus et al (2013b).…”

Section: Land Use Changementioning

confidence: 99%

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Investigation of the potential impact of the Paris Agreement on national mitigation policies and the risk of carbon leakage; an analysis of the Irish bioenergy industry

2017

Energy Policy

Self Cite

A criticism of production-based reporting and accounting of greenhouse gas emissions, as implemented under the UNFCCC and Kyoto Protocol, is the risk of mitigation measures adoption in one country to reduce national emissions, leading consequentially to the displacement of the source activity to other jurisdictions, thus resulting in an increase in net global emissions referred to as "carbon leakage". An important outcome of the 21st Conference of the Parties (COP) to the 1992 UNFCCC may be "plugging" of carbon leakage. This study examined the bioenergy industry in Ireland to determine the extent of existing carbon leakage due to national energy policy and to establish if measures identified within the relevant intended nationally determined contributions will result in plugging of carbon leakage. The study focused on co-firing of biomass with peat, the major use of biomass for energy generation in Ireland. The results show that significant levels of carbon leakage occur due to reliance on imported biomass feedstocks to meet co-firing targets under Irish energy policy. In the post-COP21 scenario, one of the three Intended Nationally Determined Contributions analysed contains a measure which has the potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from imported biomass by 32%, highlighting the potential of the Paris Agreement to reduce carbon leakage.